intramuscular depot formulation of aripiprazole as maintenance treatment in patients with schizophrenia

Conditions: Schizophrenia

Summary: to evaluate the overall effectiveness of aripiprazole intramuscular (im) depot as maintenance treatment in patients with schizophrenia.

this will be an open-label, uncontrolled study which will enroll subjects from phase 4 of study 31-07-246 and phase 3 of study 31- 07-247 and new subjects not participating in studies 246/247. the treatment history of subjects prior to enrollment in the open-label study will vary according to the design of the pivotal double-blind study (i.e., 31-07-246 or 31-07-247). this open-label study will be comprised of phases similar to the pivotal double-blind studies (i.e., studies 246/247): a screening phase (if applicable), a conversion phase (phase 1, if applicable), an oral stabilization phase (phase 2), and an im depot open-label maintenance phase (phase 3). phase 3 will be a 52-week treatment period with a 26-week follow-up period. during phase 3 (the open-label maintenance phase) oral aripiprazole rescue medication will be allowed for subjects who do not meet stability criteria or meet the criteria for impending relapse/exacerbation of psychotic symptoms.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * subjects who are able to provide written informed consent and/or consent obtained from a legally acceptable representative (as require by irb/iec), prior to the initiation of any protocol-required procedures. * male and female subjects 18 to 65 years of age, inclusive, at time of informed consent. * subjects who complete studies 246/247 or who withdrew from the double-blind maintenance phase of either study (phase 4 of study 246 or phase 3 of study 247), or new subjects not participating in studies 246/247. * # subjects who, in the investigator's judgment, require chronic treatment with an antipsychotic medication. * subjects able to understand the nature of the study and follow protocol requirements, including the prescribed dosage regimens, tablet ingestion, im depot injection, discontinuation of prohibited concomitant medications, who can read and understand the written word in order to complete patient-reported outcomes measures, and who can be reliably rated on assessment scales. exclusion criteria: * subjects with a current dsm-iv-tr diagnosis other than schizophrenia, including schizoaffective disorder, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, delirium, dementia, amnestic or other cognitive disorders. also, subjects with borderline, paranoid, histrionic, schizotypal, schizoid or antisocial personality disorder. * subjects with schizophrenia that are considered resistant/refractory to antipsychotic treatment by history or response only to clozapine. * subjects with a significant risk of violent behavior or a significant risk of committing suicide based on history or investigator's judgment. * subjects who currently meet dsm-iv-tr criteria for substance dependence; including alcohol and benzodiazepines, but excluding caffeine and nicotine, or two positive drug screens for cocaine. * subjects who are known to be allergic, intolerant, or unresponsive to prior treatment with aripiprazole or other quinolinones. * subjects with a history of hypersensitivity to antipsychotic agents. * subjects with a history of neuroleptic malignant syndrome or clinically significant tardive dyskinesia at screening.

Keywords: aripiprazole im depot schizophrenia intramuscular